Goal Setting, Planning & Broken Sidewalks

In this post I discuss the dangers that can arise when you set your plans in nice, flat, smooth concrete.

While goal setting is an important tool, it should not be seen as an end in itself. A certain amount of flexibility needs to be incorporated into any path that you lay out for yourself. If your goals and plans are rigid, and you create a straight-line path to reach them, you are certainly going to be shocked to find out that reality had other plans for you.

The trick is not to stop making goals, but to adapt to the changes that show up on the path and learn from them. By being in the moment, you can not only anticipate and respond to obstacles in your path, but you can see them as stepping stones along the way to an even better experience or goal than the one you had originally envisioned.

So the next time you are mapping out a path to your goal, have it go off road on some gorgeous single track through the mountains. You’ll enjoy the experience more and you’ll be much more capable and present when you’ve finally arrived.